In this article, young people are d

In this article, young people are divided into two broad groups: youths under the legal drinking
age – or the underage – and young adults. The definition of “underage drinking” and legal
provisions that often accompany it vary from country to country. In Japan, the minimum
drinking age is set at age 20, according to the Law Prohibiting Minors from Drinking. “Young
adults” are the youngest group of the legal drinking age, operationally defined here as 20 to
29-year-olds. Based on this classification and referring to the results of two large-scale
cross-sectional national surveys and to an on-going longitudinal study, we first look at the
current drinking behavior among underage Japanese youths. Data on young adults is extracted
from the national survey of Japan’s adult population, conducted in 2003, and is compared with
the results of the 1984 national survey.
Before taking up the main topic, we briefly describe traditions and norms related to
alcohol consumption in Japan. Since it is difficult to cover every area, we focus on those items
that may help readers understand the specifics of young people’s drinking in that country